The inaugural Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open 2020 will see some of Asia’s best golfers battle for KRW1,000,000,000 (approx. US$ 864,000) in total prizemoney when the tournament tees off at Tanah Merah Country Club this November 6-8.
Co-sanctioned by the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) and the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), the tournament will be staged at the Tanah Merah’s revamped Tampines Course and will be headlined by world number nine Minjee Lee of Australia and former world number one Lydia Ko of New Zealand.
World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak will play a key role in the event’s organising committee, with the tournament set to feature a host of up-and-coming golfers including Yealimi Noh of the USA, Paphangkorn Tavatanakit of Thailand, Sui Xiang of China, Yuka Saso of the Philippines, as well as a host of top players from the KLPGA.
The Hana Financial Group is firmly rooted in the sport of golf, having been a sponsor of events on the LPGA, KLPGA, Korean PGA and Asian Tour since 2005. The group has 167 branches across the Asia Pacific, including 72 in Indonesia where they are ranked among the top 20 banks in the country.
“We are proud to be involved with the creation of a national title in Singapore even though we are not based here. Our aim is to build the best women’s professional golf tournament in Asia to develop women’s golf in the region,” said Paul Park, sports marketing director of Hana Financial Group.
Tanah Merah Country Club president Ho Beng Huat voiced his delight at hosting some of the best golfers in the region at the newly-redeveloped Tampines course. “Tanah Merah Country Club has a long tradition of supporting women’s golf and has in the past hosted the Kosaido Asahi Ladies Championship, Lexus Cup, HSBC Women‘s World Championship and Queen Sirikit Cup. We are very pleased to continue this tradition with the Singapore Women’s Open in 2020.
“The new Tampines course is designed for championship play and we can look forward to seeing some fine display of golfing skill by the top lady golfers as they play the challenging layout,” he said.
The SGA has awarded the commercial rights for the tournament to sports marketing agency Mediapro Asia.
“Singapore’s Tanah Merah Country Club is a perfect venue to host a tournament of this stature. The club has hosted some big golf tournaments in the past, and we have no doubt that both players and fans will enjoy the experience of catching Asia’s best and brightest up close at the Tampines Course. There will be quality golf and we’re expecting some high octane drama before we crown the first Singapore Women’s Open Champion in November,” said Mediapro Asia managing director Lars Heidenreich.
SGA president Ross Tan added: “We are excited to have our first Singapore Women’s Open with our co-sanction partner KLPGA and title sponsor Hana Financial Group. It will provide an excellent opportunity for our local women golfers, both professional and amateur, as they will all stand a chance to compete on one of the professional women’s golf tours in the world.”
